


The One That Almost Got Away

by inoreuct



Series: Haikyuu!! Timeskip FanFictions [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cheating, Cuddles, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Unrequited Love, tsukkiyama - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:34:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25678174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inoreuct/pseuds/inoreuct
Summary: Tsukkiyama angst and fluff :) Don’t worry! If you’ve read my other fics, you already know that this is gonna have a happy ending ;)
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Yamaguchi Tadashi/ Shizumi Hiroko (OC)
Series: Haikyuu!! Timeskip FanFictions [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1861960
Comments: 18
Kudos: 93





	1. The Price of Happiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukki breaks down (noooooo🥺). Yams is dating someone else 😫. Song to listen to while reading: The One That Got Away by Katy Perry :)

Tsukishima Kei sighed, putting down his pen and leaning back in his chair, bobbing his head to the music flowing through his headphones. It was a Saturday night, but Tsukki had so much work to do that he couldn’t even afford to relax.  _ Fucking hell, college is so much harder than I expected. But I’ve been studying for hours...... I think I’ve done enough to deserve a break.  _ He picked up his phone, clicking on random apps and clearing his notifications. Suddenly, a notification from Instagram came in. He automatically clicked on it, but he almost immediately wished he hadn’t. It was Yamaguchi’s latest post, a mirror selfie of himself in a black suit and tie, holding a bouquet of pink roses. The caption read: “Date night with bae @shizumi_hiroko ❤️❤️❤️ Got her favourite flowers too :)” 

Yamaguchi and Shizumi had started dating about five months ago, around the time that Yamaguchi had come out as bisexual. It was also around the time that Tsukki realised he loved Yamaguchi as more than just a friend. They had promised each other they’d be together forever, but as time went by, Yamaguchi started neglecting Tsukki for his girlfriend. He took rain checks on study sessions with Tsukki because he would be busy going on dates instead. He cancelled on one-on-one volleyball games. He didn’t even eat with Tsukki on campus anymore, because he would always be sitting with Shizumi. It was...... _hard _ for Tsukki to adjust, to say the very least. He had grown used to Yamaguchi trailing him around like a lost puppy since they were kids, and had been taking his comforting presence for granted. But now that the one Yamaguchi was trailing became  _ Shizumi  _ instead of Tsukki, now that he was no longer by his side everyday just because of some  _ girl _ ...... Tsukki had been jealous.  _ Irrationally _ jealous.

At first, he tried to ignore it, passing it off as something completely platonic.  _ Of course I’m jealous! That girl is stealing my best friend!  _ But as time went by, as his best friend drifted further and further away from him, Tsukki felt increasingly worse. Only then did he realise and admit to himself that he loved Yamaguchi Tadashi as more than just a best friend. He realised that he’d been falling in love with him a little more every day. He fell a little more every time Yamaguchi rambled on about his day when Tsukki had his headphones on, thinking that he was listening to music and couldn’t hear him, when in reality, he was drinking in the sound of Yamaguchi’s soft, soothing lilt. He fell a little more every time Yamaguchi served a perfect jump floater and turned to him immediately after, his coffee-dark eyes alight and cheeks flushed, looking for his approval. He fell just a little more every time he saw Yamaguchi sing along to the radio, or his playlist, closing his eyes and bobbing his head to the music, his fluffy olive hair bouncing along with him.

Despite knowing he loved Yamaguchi, Tsukki pushed his feelings away. He was good at that. Shizumi made his best friend happy, and he  _ refused _ to be the one who took that happiness away from Yamaguchi just because of what he thought was a silly, superficial crush. And so he hid his feelings and jealousy behind a sardonic sneer, being even colder to Yamaguchi than usual. But every time he saw Yamaguchi with Shizumi, those emotions became a little stronger, a little harder to hold back. Every time he saw Yamaguchi with Shizumi instead of him, his heart tore just a little more, and that cold facade became a little harder to hold up. He desperately wished it was  _ hi_ _s_ hands that Yamaguchi held,  _ hi_ _s_ lips that Yamaguchi kissed,  _ him _ that Yamaguchi loved and held in his pale, freckled arms. By this time, Tsukki knew that this wasn’t just some superficial crush that would go away eventually if he ignored it. He had fallen  so hard, he’d hit the floor and gone _straight_ through. And the most ironic part was that he hadn’t even realise he was falling until the person he loved was taken away from him.

Looking at Yamaguchi’s latest post, seeing the boy he loved dressing up and buying flowers for someone else...... All he wanted was to curl up and cry, to tell Yamaguchi how much he meant to him, how much he loved him. But he didn’t. He held back his tears, because he  _ refused _ to be selfish and cry over his best friend being happy. He would do _anything_ to make Yamaguchi happy, even if it was at his own expense. He’d suck it up, lock away his feelings and deal with the pain of heartbreak, if that was the price of Yamaguchi’s happiness.

As Tsukki turned off his phone and tried to compose himself, a new song started playing through his headphones. Katy Perry’s ‘The One That Got Away’ flowed through the speakers, tugging at his heartstrings. This song was one of his all-time favourites, but he hadn’t heard it in a while. As the song continued verse after verse, Tsukki realised that he had never related to the lyrics this much.

_ I was June and you were my Johnny Cash _

_ Never one without the other, we made a pact _

_ Sometimes when I miss you, I put those records on, whoa _

With each verse, he could feel his nose start to sting more and more.

_ Someone said you had your tattoo removed _

_ Saw you downtown, singing the blues _

_ It's time to face the music, I'm no longer your muse _

Tsukki sucked in a big breath and held it in, digging his nails into his desk and trying desperately not to let his tears fall. His chest felt like it was being crushed, his lungs collapsing in on themselves, his heart being squeezed dry. As the bridge started, he could feel himself teetering on the edge of a breakdown, a few stray tears catching in his eyelashes.

_ All this money can't buy me a time machine, no _

_ Can't replace you with a million rings, no _

_ I should'a told you what you meant to me, whoa _

_ Cause now I pay the price _

Tsukki couldn’t hold his tears back anymore. As the chorus hit one last time, he bent over his desk, shoulders heaving, broken sobs slipping from his lips as he finally let go.

_ In another life, I would be your girl _

_ We keep all our promises, be us against the world _

_ In another life, I would make you stay _

_ So I don't have to say you were the one that got away _

_ The one that got away _

All the emotions he had so very carefully locked away came flooding back, and he sobbed his heart out. His face was screwed up, his hands scrabbling at the table top as he tried to find some sort of anchor, something, anything. He felt like he was free-falling, hurtling downwards, his emotions spiralling out of control. He was sobbing so hard he was almost hyperventilating.

_ In another life, I would make you stay _

_ So I don't have to say you were the one that got away _

_ The one that got away _

As the last notes of the song faded away, Tsukki shuddered, gasping hard, hot tears sliding down his entire face. His body felt really heavy and numb, like he was moving underwater. He tripped out of the chair and stumbled to his bed, falling onto the mattress heavily. Tugging his glasses off his face and placing them on the bedside table, Tsukki lay back and wrapped his arms and legs around a pillow, wishing with all his might that it was Yamaguchi he was holding in his arms instead. He fell asleep with tears still dripping down his face, clutching the pillow to his body, chest aching from his sobs and dreaming of what he was certain could never be.


	2. Fake Love and Locked-Up Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SHIZUMI IS A HOE😤 and Yams deserves so much better🥺 Song to listen to while reading: Wrong Direction by Hailee Steinfeld :)

Yamaguchi adjusted his tie, checking his reflection in the windowpane. He had walked to Shizumi’s house from his own, since they lived 10 minutes away from each other. He planned for them to take a taxi to the fancy restaurant that he’d made a reservation at. He pressed the doorbell, shifting the pink roses he was holding from one hand to the other. After five minutes, no one had come to the door. He rang the doorbell again, but after yet another five minutes, Shizumi still hadn’t appeared. Yamaguchi was seriously worried now. Bending down, he flipped aside the doormat and picked up the spare house key he knew was hidden there. He unlocked the front door and pushed it open, stepping inside the house.

“Hello?” Shizumi’s parents were still at work, so only she should have been home. He walked through the first floor of the house, but Shizumi wasn’t there. “Hiroko? Babe, where are you? We’re gonna be late. Did you forget about our date?” He frowned, looking around as he heard a weird noise.  _ Was that...... A moan?  _ He put the flowers on the dining table, walked to the staircase and walked up to the second floor. As the moaning got louder, Yamaguchi felt a sense of dread settle in his stomach.  _ It can’t be. She wouldn’t...... Would she?  _ As he walked towards Shizumi’s bedroom, he heard the lewd noises of skin slapping against skin. He blanched, placing his hand on the door handle. He set his jaw, an uncharacteristically dark look crossing his face, and wrenched the handle down, slamming the door open.

His girlfriend was lying on her back on the bed, her legs hooked over a random guy’s shoulders, their lips glued together, his cock hilted deep in her cunt. As soon as Yamaguchi burst in, they froze, Shizumi diving under the covers and the guy pulling up his pants. “H-Hiroko?” Yamaguchi was speechless, his brain still trying to process what his eyes were seeing. 

“Oh, umm...... Hey babe. I didn’t realise it was so late. Just give me a moment, I’ll go get changed for our date.” Shizumi smiled that sweet smiled that Yamaguchi loved- no,  _used_ to love. 

“No. You’re not going anywhere. Who the hell is this?!” he gestured to the half-naked guy standing awkwardly to the side.

“Oh, he’s my boyfriend. I thought you knew.”

“ You thought I knew? _You thought I knew?!_ _How the hell would I know?_ And why do you have another boyfriend other than me?”

“Jeez, babe. You’re overreacting. Why do you think people have been sniggering at you behind your back for weeks? I was only with you because you did my projects and carried my stuff and bought me things. But you’re still here because you love me, right?” Shizumi smiled her signature sweet smile. The only problem was that now, Yamaguchi found it  _ too _ sweet. He finally saw how fake and desperate it was. 

He took a deep breath and let it out, clenching his shaking fists.  “We’re over.”

Shizumi went pale, all the colour draining from her face. “Wait...... What? What do you mean we’re  over?!” she breathed in disbelief.

“I mean  _ we’re over_. I’m breaking up with you.” Yamaguchi turned around, walking towards the door.

“You- You can’t leave me! You love me! How am I supposed to pass up my projects now?!” Shizumi screeched indignantly, hitting the mattress with her fist. She looked so unlike the Shizumi that Yamaguchi had thought he was in love with.

He paused under the doorframe, an unusually cold expression on his face. He turned his head and looked over his shoulder, sneering angrily, “Ask your boyfriend.” He went down the stairs, storming out of the house and slamming the door on his way out.

~timeskip~

Yamaguchi strode into his apartment, closing the door behind him with a ‘BANG!’, angry tears burning down his face. Deep down, he wasn’t even surprised that Shizumi had cheated on him just for sex. She had been pressuring him for sex for weeks now, but every time, he had refused, saying that he wasn’t ready. The strange part was, he didn’t even feel sad about the whole situation. He was just...... _mad_ , that he had gotten played and taken advantage of. He didn’t feel _sad_ about losing Shizumi at all. _I guess I was so blinded by my need to distract myself from my feelings for Tsukki, I somehow fooled myself into thinking I loved her. Not to mention I completely missed how manipulative she is. _ He suddenly remembered all the times that Shimizu had asked him to “help” her with her school projects, only for him to eventually end up doing the entire thing. It was like a smokescreen had lifted, and Yamaguchi could see with  perfect clarity how he had been played and used for the past 5 months. 

_ Tsukki would never do something like this to me. _The thought flashed unbidden through Yamaguchi’s head before he could stop it.  _ No! Stop, Tadashi. It’s never gonna happen, so stop thinking about it. You’re only gonna hurt yourself more.  _ He laughed humourlessly, swiping away the hot tears under his eyes with shaking fingers. _But it’s only ever been Tsukki, hasn’t it?_ Sniffing hard, Yamaguchi puffed out a sad chuckle. _My heart’s only ever belonged to Tsukki._ _That was the entire reason I started dating Shizumi, to try and forget about him. _

Yamaguchi had realised that he was in love with his best friend five months ago. He didn’t say anything because he was scared that Tsukki wasn’t gay, or didn’t like him that way, or would judge him. He started dating Shizumi because he was convinced that they would never happen, and he wanted a distraction from his true feelings. But now he realised, even what he had tricked himself into thinking he felt for Shizumi was nothing compared to what he felt for Tsukki.  _ Gods, even if he doesn’t love me that way...... I wish I had my best friend back. I could really use some comfort right now. But Tsukki’s been colder to me than usual lately...... I suppose I can’t blame him. I  had been kinda neglecting him for that hoe. But will he still be willing to listen to me ramble like I used to?  _

_ I guess I’ll just have to take a chance.  _ Yamaguchi changed out of his suit and tie into sweatpants and a t-shirt, and began the fifteen-minute walk to Tsukki’s house, hoping desperately that he wouldn’t turn him away.


	3. Not-So-Unrequited Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukki makes Yams some hot cocoa😌❤️ The feels in this chapter are ✨aStRoNoMiCaL✨XD. Song to listen to while reading: Chills by Why Don’t We :)

Tsukki startled awake as the doorbell rang, squeezing the pillow he was holding in alarm. Looking out the window, he realised that the sky was dark. He’d lain down at around five, and now it was already seven thirty. He put on his glasses, swung his legs off the bed and padded downstairs, trying unsuccessfully to hold back a yawn. Scrubbing a hand over his face, Tsukki turned the doorknob and yanked the door open. “......Yamaguchi?” His best friend was standing outside, looking at thefloor with his arms wrapped around himself. At the sound of Tsukki’s voice, he looked up, his pale, tear-stained face glowing in the dim light of the street lamps. 

“H-Hey, Tsukki,” he smiled wanly, hugging himself tighter. Tsukki dug his nails into his doorframe. Seeing the boy he loved crying...... It broke his heart. All he wanted to do was wrap his arms around Yamaguchi, to comfort him and wipe away his tears, to destroy whatever had made him cry and protect him from the rest of the world. 

_ But I can’t. He has Shizumi for that. Stop dreaming, Kei. _ And so Tsukki only opened the door wider and stepped aside, nodding at Yamaguchi with a blank face and a curt ‘come in’. He walked into the living room, gesturing to the dining table. “Sit down. I’ll be back in a moment,” he said, walking to the kitchen. He grabbed milk and chocolate from the fridge and started to make a cup of hot cocoa, Yamaguchi’s favourite drink. As he stirred, his face was emotionless,but his mind was racing.  _ What happened? Why was he crying? He hates crying in public. I swear to god, I’m gonna kill whoever made him cry. _

Back in the living room, Yamaguchi was fiddling with his hands nervously.  _ Is he mad at me for just showing up like this? ......Did I do something wrong? To upset him?  _ Lost in his thoughts, Yamaguchi didn’t notice Tsukki walking back into the living room with a mug of his favourite hot cocoa, complete with a huge pile of fluffy whipped cream and three marshmallows. He sat down opposite him, setting the mug down in the table and sliding it across to his best friend. 

“Drink. What’s wrong?” he questioned, propping his arm on the table and resting his chin in his hand. 

_He looks almost......worried._ Yamaguchi wrapped his hands around the warm mug and took a sip, relishing the flavour of chocolate and milk and cream and marshmallowy goodness melting on his tongue. He smiled a little to himself.  _ I’ve missed this. Tsukki always makes the best hot cocoa.  _

Tsukki waited patiently for Yamaguchi to gather his thoughts. He gripped the mug tighter, trying to get some borrowed courage from the heat seeping into his hands. “I... Shizumi...cheated on me. When I went to her house to pick her up for our date just now, she...... She was fucking another guy. She’s been pressuring me for sex for weeks, but I said no because I wasn’t ready. She said she was only dating me because I did her projects and bought her stuff. She didn’t love me. But then I realised...... I didn’t love her either. I’m in love with someone else, but... I don’t think he loves me back.” Yamaguchi laughed sadly, taking another sip of his hot cocoa. “I only dated her to try and forget about him, because we would probably never work out. I don’t even think he likes guys that way......”

The entire time Yamaguchi was talking, Tsukki had been quiet, looking down at the table.  _ Unnaturally _ quiet. Yamaguchi gulped nervously. “Tsukki...... You’ve been...colder than usual to me lately. N-Not that I’m complaining, but...... Did I do anything wrong?” He chewed on his bottom lip, tucking his olive hair behind his ear. At this, Tsukki finally looked up, tears welling in his eyes and catching on his lashes.

“Yeah, you have. It was  _ her _ hands you’ve been holding, not mine.  _ Her _ lips you’ve been kissing, not mine.  _Her_ you’ve been holding in those perfect arms, not  _ me._ And now you’re gonna slip right through my fingers again, but there’s nothing I can do about it. ......I love you, Yamaguchi Tadashi. I only realised that after I almost lost you. I didn’t say anything because I thought that she made you happy, and I had no right to take that away from you. But even if I did...... I’ll never be good enough for you.” He swallowed hard, looking to the side.

“I tried to hide my feelings, and I hurt you. I never meant to hurt you, but I did, and I’m sorry. You deserve someone better, someone who’ll love you right.” He turned back and looked into Yamaguchi’s coffee-coloured eyes, tears finally spilling out of his own. “That guy you love...... He has no idea how lucky he is. If you really love him, if you think he’s the one...... Tell him. Before it’s too late.” Tsukki’s heart felt like it was ripping apart. But as long as Yamaguchi was happy...... He’d deal with it.

Yamaguchi was stunned, hot tears dripping down his own face.  _ He loves......me? He loves me?!  _ He started smiling as he finally processed Tsukki’s words. “Okay. I love you,” he blurted with a dazed grin. 

“......What?”

“You asked me to confess to the guy I loved. I’m confessing.”

“Wait...... I’m him?  _ I’m _ the guy you were talking about? You love...... _ me_?” Tsukki scrambled out of his chair and walked around the table, kneeling down on the floor in front of Yamaguchi. He reached up and cupped his freckled cheeks in his hands, tears still falling from both their eyes. “Please tell me this is real. Tell me this isn’t a dream, tell me I’m not still- still asleep in my bed, or something.” Yamaguchi laughed through his tears and put down his mug, grabbing Tsukki’s hand on his right cheek and threading their fingers together, placing his other hand gently on the side of Tsukki’s face. 

“This is real. It’s real, it’s all real.” A strangled half-sob, half-laugh burst from his lips. “I love you, Kei.”

Tsukki had to take a moment to let his brain register what Yamaguchi had said. His heart slowly restitched itself inside his chest. “Oh my god, I love you so much,” he sobbed, smiling so wide his cheeks hurt, lacing his fingers into Yamaguchi’s soft, fluffy hair. “Say it again. My name, please say it again.”

“Kei. Kei, Kei, Kei, Kei, Kei, Kei, Kei,” Yamaguchi chanted. He laughed out loud, sliding off his chair and onto the floor. Crawling into Tsukki’s lap, he wrapped his arms and legs around him like a koala and buried his nose into his nape.

“C-Can I call you Tadashi?” Tsukki mumbled, crossing his arms across Yamaguchi’s back and tucking his chin over his shoulder. 

“Of course you can. So...... Are we dating now?” Yamaguchi asked, rubbing his nose along Tsukki’s neck.

“Do you wanna be dating?” Tsukki pulled back to look at Yamaguchi’s face. He stared into his best friend’s golden, bespectacled eyes.

“Yeah, I do. I really do.”

“Then we’re dating. I love you, Tadashi,” Tsukki whispered, kissing his boyfriend on the cheek tenderly.

“I love you too, Kei. So much. God, we were both idiots, weren’t we?” Yamaguchi chuckled.

“No kidding. I wish I realised I loved you sooner. I’d been taking you for granted, but......never again. I love you so much.” He squeezed Yamaguchi gently, tucking his nose into his olive hair, breathing in the scent of bergamot and vanilla. Finally holding the boy he loved in his arms, he could physically feel his heart swell with love and happiness.  _Who would have guessed he loves me too._

**Author's Note:**

> NEW SERIES!!!!!! Dun dun duuuuuuun! Tell me what you think :) After this I’m gonna do Sakuatsu and Bokuaka. Comment any ship requests and/or major plot points you want! Hope y’all are having a nice day❤️❤️❤️


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